Warning

Info

Warning

Info

Warning

Info

LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

criminal law

Read a random definition: legal practice

A quick definition of criminal law:

Criminal law is a set of rules that say what people can't do, and if they break those rules, they can be punished by the government. Crimes are things like stealing or hurting someone on purpose. Each state and the federal government have their own rules about what is a crime and what the punishment should be. To prove someone committed a crime, the government has to show that the person did something wrong on purpose. There are different types of crimes, like really bad ones called felonies and less bad ones called misdemeanors. If someone helps a criminal, they can also be punished. There are some defenses that people can use if they are accused of a crime, like saying they didn't do it or that they had to do it to protect themselves or someone else.

A more thorough explanation:

Criminal law is a system of laws that deals with crimes and the punishment of individuals who commit crimes. It is different from civil law, which deals with disputes between two parties over their rights. In criminal law, the government decides whether to punish an individual for an act or omission that violates a law prohibiting said action or omission.

These examples illustrate criminal law because they are all acts that are prohibited by law and can result in punishment by the government.

Every crime involves three elements:

  1. The act or conduct (actus reus)
  2. The individual's mental state at the time of the act (mens rea)
  3. The causation between the act and the effect (typically either proximate causation or but-for causation)

The government has the burden of proof to establish every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

There are several defenses available to a defendant in a criminal prosecution:

These defenses can be used to argue that the defendant did not commit the crime or that they should not be punished for it.

Criminal law is a system of laws that deals with crimes and their punishment. It involves three elements of a crime, and there are several defenses available to a defendant in a criminal prosecution. Examples of crimes include robbery, murder, assault, and drug trafficking.

criminal justice | criminal procedure

Warning

Info

General

General chat about the legal profession.
main_chatroom
👍 Chat vibe: 0 👎
Help us make LSD better!
Tell us what's important to you
23:03
it seems so simple; how hard could they make it to spend $300k for a piece of paper. Law schools be like: hold my beer bro!
soapy
23:05
“hello! I am willing to go hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt for a piece of paper! please let me do so!”
soapy
23:06
“Pay me $125 bucks first. Not good enough. Next.”
23:07
ok step right up, it will take 1 year + a few thousand $$ to begin the 3 year process to teach you to say; 'it depends" THEN you can spend 6 months studying for the test to maybe get a job.
soapy
23:08
Don’t forget, you’ll need to shell out $5000 in prep materials and a few thousand for the test itself. Then you have a shot at a job, good luck!
23:08
but on the plus side- we are headed towards hyper inflation so in 5 years $300k may be so little amount of money the whole process may be a great deal, maybe.
soapy
23:10
Ah, but we’re also experiencing the death of on campus interviews. So if you aren’t already close to a Biglaw partner, good luck getting enough money to pay back the debt thanks to the bimodal salary.
23:11
@soapy: also true
23:15
on the bright side: 1. avg age of a lawyer is 46 yrs old, many JDs do not stay in the profession, turnover is high and you get a chance to spend 3 years figuring out the rules of life so you may be in a position to be a weapon in business. overall, possibly worth it?
soapy
23:17
certainly worthwhile. The job I want requires a law degree, and I really can’t see myself doing anything other than law long term.
23:17
wat u wanna do soap
soapy
23:19
The long-term pipe dream would be to be a labor arbitrator. That’s far in the future, however, and I would like to do labor/employment law cases as an attorney
23:19
u ever watch this guy> https://www.youtube.com/@RyanStygar
soapy
23:20
Never seen him! I don’t really use YouTube, but his channel seems interesting
23:21
ah, he does trial for sa, wage, wrong termination, workplace stuff.
[] baddestbunny
23:35
the New England law apology email lmaooo
[] baddestbunny
23:35
We hope this message finds you well. We want to sincerely apologize for any confusion caused by an email you may have received from us in error regarding our digital publications and congratulating you on admission to New England Law | Boston. The email was sent by mistake and does not accurately reflect your current application status. We understand how important clear communication is during this process, and we are sorry for any uncertainty this may have caused.
23:37
sent on a Sunday?
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:02
UCLA tmrw 🥹
ClassyPleasantHeron
0:03
New England Law isn't the worst. That's really all that they have going for them.
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:03
I need to relax I went complete last week
is forwarded for review the same as under review?
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:07
I think some schools don’t specify when an app is under review, they just say forwarded and leave it at that until a decision is made
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:07
Not entirely sure thi
ok. I haven't heard anything new so I'm assuming it's under review
thank you!!
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:08
of course! asu for example doesn’t specify, I think
yeah i'm talking about asu so that makes sense lol
because last cycle they had me under review within 2 days so i'm like what is taking so long but it's just that they didn't name it as under review
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:11
oh hahah I had an inkling you were referencing them
LSD+ is ad-free, with DMs, discounts, case briefs & more.